LATEST FEATURES, ESSAYS, COLUMNS, ROUNDTABLES, & REVIEWS

By Iruka Shiomiya, Keiichi Sigsawa and Kouhaku Kuroboshi. Released in Japan as “Kino no Tabi – the Beautiful World” by Kodansha, serialized in Shonen Magazine Edge. Released in North America by Vertical Comics. Translated by Jenny McKeon. (This review is based on a copy provided by the publisher.) In olden times, when the internet was just a young man, the first Kino’s Journey novel was published in North America by Tokyopop. It was also the last Kino’s Journey novel published in North America. Rumors swirled around why it died so fast. The usual low sales for novels? (This was pre-boom.) Or was it, as the most popular rumor went, that the author/publisher was enraged that Tokyopop changed the order of the chapters in the first book and pulled permission? A…

SEAN: The last week of February has far, far more titles than I expected. A ridiculous amount, given Yen was mostly the week before. Cross Infinite World debuts a new light novel with Beast † Blood (which seems to be part of a series called The Beast’s Mate). It’s got a Japanese author and title, but the premise seems pure Western YA. Biotech Researcher meets Mutant Beast Hunter. Sparks fly! Dark Horse has piled all their manga into next week. We get the debut of their “Deluxe Edition” of Berserk, as well as Fate/Zero 8, and I Am a Hero 9. ASH: From the previews I’ve seen, the deluxe edition of Berserk looks gorgeous. It also has a price tag to match. SEAN: Denpa Books has two debuts. The first…

By Inumajin and Kochimo. Released in Japan as “Wanwan Monogatari ~Kanemochi no Inu n shite to wa Itta ga, Fenrir ni shiro to wa Itte nee!~” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jennifer O’Donnell. Well, that had all the strengths and weaknesses of the current light novel glut. Everyone want to write an isekai, usually with reincarnation, as that’s what sells. But there’s already too many of the normal adventurer sort, so you try to find a gimmick. We were a bit spoiled by having the Vending Machine isekai come out earlier, which already stretched disbelief to the snapping point. Woof Woof Story does not quite go that far, and instead sticks with our hero Routa as a “dog”. Unfortunately, the goddess who…

By Nagata Kabi. Released in Japan as “Hitori Koukan Nikki” by Shogakukan, serialized in Big Comic Special. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Jocelyne Allen. Adapted by Lianne Sentar. By the end of this volume, the author has decided that she’s ending this diary, at least for public consumption. While this volume was also very good, I do think that may be for the best, as we are once again reminded that the life of a real person can cause more emotional pain that the life of, say, a 16-year-old girl in a girls’ private school. Apparently the last volume (the first Solo Exchange Diary) was not as popular with folks in Japan, particularly the last chapter, and that hit Kabi-san pretty hard. This final volume is…

Crocodile Baron, Vol. 2 | By Takuya Okada | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – Crocodile Baron was initially part food manga, part whimsical story about a gentlemanly crocodile novelist named Alfardo J. Donson (a stellar name). In its second volume, the food is still there—I mean, technically, Alfardo and his pal Rabbit Boy travel around and eat various foods—but there’s even less focus on it than before, and it wasn’t much to start with. Now, it’s more about the quirky characters they meet, from a chameleon who wants to get the scoop on Alfardo’s wild side to a lonely jackal to a spoiled rich bunny girl to a competitive beaver. It’s good for a few chuckles, but there’s not much about it’s that’s exciting or compelling. The third volume is…

By Namekojirushi and Nao Watanuki. Released in Japan as “Ore ga Heroine o Tasukesugite Sekai ga Little Mokushiroku!?” by Hobby Japan. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Mana Z. What struck me most about this volume of Little Apocalypse was what a well oiled machine Rekka’s heroine saving has become. We get three heroines arriving one right after the other, and Rekka and company know what’s going to be happening – he’s got to save them all. He picks out his crack team of Rekka’s Angels based on who he feels would fit best with what’s planned, and for the most part he’s absolutely right about it. The girls occasionally fight over him, but it’s “offscreen” so we don’t actually need to see it, and when…

By Dojyomaru and Fuyuyuki. Released in Japan by Overlap, Inc. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Sean McCann. After a book that was mostly politics last time, we spend much of this book with warfare, as the tiny kingdom of Lastania is under attack by a horde of monsters from the demon territories. This is relevant to Souma and company because Roroa’s brother Julius, who has been wandering around ever since he got his ass handed to him in the early books, has settled down in this kingdom due to falling for the kingdom’s insufferably cute and plucky princess, Tia, who is on the cover despite not getting nearly as much focus in the book as I expected. Julius is a bit desperate here, as the…

By Eiichiro Oda. Released in Japan by Shueisha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Weekly Shonen Jump. Released in North America by Viz. Translated by Stephen Paul. So, as I have said before, and will again, I have difficulty doing full reviews of these volumes of One Piece that are just a bunch of giant melee battles. And yet, One Piece is also one of the series where I am dedicated to giving full reviews to each volume – no Bookshelf Briefs as that would be cheating. So let’s see what we have here. First of all, I pretty much enjoyed this volume as much as I have the last few, which if anything else puts this arc above Dressrosa, where I was desperate for an ending by the second to…

Yona of the Dawn Volume 16 by Mizuho Kusanagi I often put down a new volume of Yona of the Dawn thinking “this was my favorite volume”, which is a testament to Kuanagi’s storytelling abilities. I’m willing to go on the record now and forever (or at least until volume 17) that 16 is my favorite volume of Yona of the Dawn. I had high hopes when I saw that the cover featured an extremely angry looking Hak. This is the concluding volume of the Water Tribe story arc, and things have been headed towards a major confrontation, what with all the terrible drugrunning, Riri’s seizing her father’s power of hereditary rule, Su-Won and his minions appearing and hanging out near Riri, Yona getting herself injured, and people in general…